Amnesty International and the Journey for Justice Alliance will host grassroots listening events in 24 U.S. cities for community members to share how school closings, inequitable practices and funding affect low-income and minority populations. The College of Education’s Center for Public Education will host an extension of this event later this month because the tour schedule does not include a stop in Texas.

The listening event, Education as a Human Right, allows citizens to join the local conversation in person and online. Participants may choose to share a three-to-five minute presentation on the negative impact of school closings and other perceived discriminatory education practices in their communities.

“This listening project creates a space where people can share their experiences to build a broader understanding of how those experiences compare and connect with national patterns of education reforms that have made access to a good education more difficult,” said Dr. Fran Huckaby, director of the Center for Public Education. “It amplifies local voices to an actionable step with the U.S. Department of Education and the United Nations.”

Information gathered from the events will be used for a report produced by Amnesty International and the Journey for Justice Alliance calling for a ban on corporate interventions such as closings and charter expansions, and the addition of their version of sustainable community schools in high-poverty neighborhoods.

The event begins at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 29 in the Brown-Lupton University Union. It is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

TCU’s Center for Public Education seeks to understand the complexity of public education at the system level and hosts events throughout the year to provide learning experiences for children and professional development opportunities for educators in our community.